Data exchange system with a mobile component to control consumer

ABSTRACT

A mobile component of a data exchange system, in particular a mobile telephone of a home mobile radio system, is equipped with an Internet interface in order to transmit control commands via the Internet interface to a control device in order to control one or more consumers, whereby the control device converts these control commands into a corresponding control of the required consumer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a data exchange system, in particular amobile telephone system or home mobile telephone system for controllingdevices or consumers.

A system to control a multiplicity of electrical consumers is describedin the publication WO 99/09780. These consumers are accessible viaintermediate actuators via an IP address. Furthermore, the use of aninterface to the Internet, whereby consumers can be controlled, is knownfrom the publication EP 0 838 768 A2.

The mobile telephone is being developed into a mass-market product. Itis foreseeable that the mobile telephone will, in the future, become astandard device in daily life.

The CTS, (Cellular Telephony System) is currently in the standardizationphase. The CTS enables the use of a mobile telephone as a cordlesstelephone in the home on a home base station. The home base stationserves as an interface between the mobile telephone and the fixednetwork and allows calls to be made from the mobile telephone via thefixed network.

Furthermore, the use of mobile telephones for remote control purposes inthe home is also currently under discussion. Integration of an infraredinterface into mobile telephones is currently envisaged, so thatdifferent devices in the home can be controlled with the aid of a mobiletelephone via infrared control signals. Thus, mobile telephones can beused in as remote controls with a learning capability. However, theequipment of mobile telephones with an infrared interface is associatedwith the disadvantages that additional hardware outlay, an additionalradiation line for the infrared LED and a direct line-of-sight contactbetween the corresponding mobile telephone and the devices which are tobe remotely controlled are required. In addition, applications arealready known in which mobile telephones are used in the home to controlconsumers. Thus, for example, a data exchange system implemented on thebasis of a home mobile radio system is known in which a mobile telephoneoperated according to the DECT standard (Digital European CordlessTelephone) is used to control a television set, which also contains thebase station of the mobile radio system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a simplefacility for controlling consumers via a mobile data exchange device, inparticular via a mobile telephone.

The present invention is based on a data exchange system in which amobile component is used to control a consumer. According to the presentinvention, the control commands are transmitted from the mobilecomponent via an Internet interface to a control device. The dataexchange system may be designed in the form of a home mobile radiosystem, so that a mobile telephone with an Internet interface is used asthe mobile component.

Since plans already exist to equip high-end telephones with an Internetinterface in the near future, no additional hardware is essentiallyrequired in a mobile telephone of this type for remote control ofconsumers. The present invention offers the particular advantage thatdevices from different manufacturers can communicate with one another onthe basis of standard Internet data transmission.

Preferably, if a mobile telephone is used as the mobile component, thiscan be operated on a home base station as a cordless telephone.According to the present invention, different consumers which are to beremotely controlled are connected to this home base station so that, viathe home base station, remote control of these consumers is possible viaany type of data connection.

Since the standard home base station is normally designed merely as acommunications interface between the mobile telephone and acommunications network, an additional control is required which, on theone hand, is controlled from the mobile telephone via the Internetinterface of the mobile telephone and which, on the other hand, forwardsthe control commands accordingly via the data connection to theindividual consumers or devices. The control, therefore, performs thefunction of a home server.

The home base station may, for example, be based on the GSM standard(Global System for Mobile Communication) or the UMTS standard (UniversalMobile Telecommunication System) and the CTS standard.

Furthermore, control of consumers via a mobile telephone offers theadvantage that a system for identification and authentication of theuser is already available for mobile telephones, so that this system canalso be used for access restriction for various consumers or theirfunctions.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention aredescribed in, and will be apparent from, the following DetailedDescription of the Invention and the Figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a representation illustrating a hierarchical menu structurewhich can be used in the system shown in FIG. 1 to control variousconsumers.

FIG. 3 shows a variation of the system structure shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 schematically shows a home mobile telephone system according toan embodiment of the present invention. In general, the home mobiletelephone system includes a mobile telephone 1, a home base station 2which is connected via a connection or an interface 3 to acommunications network, and a home server 4 which is connected to thehome base station 2. The communications network may be a fixed telephonenetwork, a satellite communications network, a radio network or, withthe use of “power line technology”, also a power network, or the like.

Preferably, the home mobile telephone system is designed according tothe CTS standard in such a way that, with the aid of the home basestation 2, a communications link can be set up between the mobiletelephone 1 and the communications network. The home base station 2therefore serves as a communications interface between the mobiletelephone 1 and the communications network, and enables the use of themobile telephone 1 as a cordless telephone in the home.

The home server 4 serves as a control device to convert control commandstransmitted by the mobile telephone 1 into a corresponding control ofvarious consumers 5. For this purpose, the consumers 5 are connected viaa data transmission line or path 9 to the home server 4. This mayinvolve not only wired data transmission but also wireless datatransmission (e.g., infrared signal transmission).

It is known that control commands can, in principle, be transmitted viathe Internet (World Wide Web, WWW). Current Internet and Javadevelopments are designed to network devices via the Internet andremotely control these devices with the aid of control commandstransmitted via the Internet. It can be assumed that, in the nearfuture, all high-end telephone devices will possess an Internetinterface in order to access the Internet.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the mobile telephone 1 is alsoequipped with an Internet interface, so that the control commands tocontrol various consumers are transmitted by the mobile telephone in anInternet-compatible format. The WAP standard (Wireless ApplicationProtocol) can be used for this purpose. The home server 4 connected tothe home base station 2 is correspondingly equipped with a function toevaluate Internet control commands of this type in order to convertthese Internet control commands into normal analog or digital controlcommands to control the various consumers. Via the home base station 2,normal Internet access is available via the fixed telephone networkconnection 3.

The consumers 5 connected to the data transmission path 9 may, inprinciple, involve any given home or office devices. Thus, for example,remote control of television sets, personal computers, hi-fi systems,video recorders, air-conditioning systems, heating devices, the like andcombinations thereof is conceivable with the aid of the mobile telephone1.

The individual consumers are preferably controlled via the datatransmission path 9 in digital form, since digital signal transmissionoffers greater transmission reliability than analog signal transmission.The individual consumers 5 can, therefore, be controlled by the homeserver 4 in the form of digital control words, whereby the controlwords, depending on the control commands entered via the keypad 7 of themobile telephone 1, contain device-specific or consumer-specificaddresses in order to address the required consumers 5. Thus, eachconsumer 5 is equipped with a corresponding digital data interface whichmonitors the control words present on the data transmission path 9 forthe occurrence of its own address and converts the control commandsaccordingly if it is itself addressed.

The data transmission path 9 is preferably designed as two-way, so thatthe different consumers 5 can be not only controlled, but also monitored(i.e., status information relating to the individual consumers 5 alsocan be retrieved from the mobile telephone 1). For example, it can thusbe determined whether a specific television set is switched on or not.The return messages from the home base station 2 to the mobile telephone1 are likewise preferably transmitted via the Internet interface.

Normal communication between the home base station 2 and the mobiletelephone 1 can be carried out according to any given mobile radiostandard, such as GSM, DECT (Digital European Cordless Telephone) orBluetooth, or also via infrared transmission. The use of dual-modedevices (e.g., DECT/GSM) is similarly conceivable. In addition, thecontrol commands also can be transmitted from the mobile telephone tothe home base station 2 or to the home server 4 connected thereto in adifferent frequency band and with a shorter range than in normal calldata transfer.

The different consumers 5 can be controlled from the mobile telephone 1via a hierarchical menu structure, as shown in FIG. 2. This menustructure may be implemented on the mobile telephone 1 or may be offeredto the mobile telephone 1 by the home server 4. Once the user hasselected the control menu, the first menu shown in FIG. 2, for example,is presented on a display unit 8 of the mobile telephone 1. With the aidof this menu, the user can, preferably via the keypad 7 or a differentinput medium, make a preselection concerning the device or consumer 5which is to be controlled. If a television set (TV) has been selected asthe device to be controlled, the second menu shown in FIG. 2, forexample, is presented on the display unit 8, via which menu the requiredtelevision program can be selected. Following the selection of atelevision program, a further menu can be presented, with which, forexample, as shown in FIG. 2, the volume or brightness or the like can beset.

An advantage in the remote control of consumers 5 with the aid of amobile telephone 1 is that a system for identifying and authenticatingthe user is already provided for mobile telephones. Thus, GSM mobiletelephones 1 can only be operated with “SIM cards” 10 (SubscriberIdentification Module), which are inserted into the mobile telephone 1and which contain identification information relating to the relevantuser which subsequently can be checked in order to release the mobiletelephone 1 for the authorized user only. User authentication in themobile telephones 1 is becoming increasingly reliable. Fingerprintrecognition, for example, is also currently under discussion. Inaddition, identification through voice recognition is also possible.

The above-mentioned identification and authentication options for mobiletelephones 1 can be used in the context of the present invention inorder to selectively release only specific consumers or devices 5 orcorresponding functions of the consumers for the relevant user. If thepresent invention is used in the office domain, it is possible, forexample, following user identification, to determine whether this user,in controlling a personal computer, is even authorized to switch it on.If not, access is denied. Access authorization can be checked in boththe mobile telephone 1 and the home base station 2 or in the home server4. Similarly, with the aid of the identification options of the mobiletelephone 1, only specific functions of the relevant controlled device 5can be protected against unauthorized access. Thus, for example,specific television programs can be released in this way for specificusers or can be blocked (e.g., for children).

Due to the increasing computing power of available computer componentsand increasing integration, different system components can befunctionally combined in one device. Thus, it is possible for the homeserver 4 and the home base station 2 to form one unit, as indicated inFIG. 3.

A unit of this type may internally include one or more control units(CPUs) 11, one or more memories 12 to store software and/or data,ancillary units (e.g., MPEG decoders 13) and different interfaces 14, 15for connection with other devices. These interfaces may, for example, bewire-based or wireless, or may support “power line technology”. The useof dielectric conductors, such as optical fibers, is also conceivable.The interface 15 provides a connection to the data transmission path 9.

The functionality of a combination unit of this type may, for example,include the functionality of a television set, whereby the combinationunit receives a television program via one of the interfaces 14 (e.g.,via a television cable connection) and converts these data with the aidof the MPEG decoder 13 into an image data stream. One of the controlledconsumers 5 may be designed as a digital monitor which receives theimage data from the combination unit via the data transmission path 9which is designed as an IEEE1394 bus.

In parallel with this television operation, processes run on the controlunit(s) 11 which ensure wireless communication between the combinationunit and the mobile component 1 shown in FIG. 1. The mobile unit 1 mayserve as a further input/output unit for the processes of thecombination unit. The data entered via the mobile component 1 may betransmitted via one of the connected interfaces 14, 15 of thecombination unit to other data-processing devices or consumers 5.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific embodiments, those of skill in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as set forth in the hereafter appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A data exchange system, comprising: amobile component; and a control device for receiving control commandsfrom the mobile component to control at least one consumer, convertingthe control commands into corresponding control signals and transmittingthe control signals via a data transmission path to the consumer to becontrolled; wherein the mobile component further comprises an Internetinterface to transmit control commands to the control device, thecontrol device evaluating the control commands and converting thecontrol commands into a corresponding control of the consumers connectedto the data transmission path, and wherein the mobile component furthercomprises an identification unit for supplying information to identifythe user of the mobile component, at least one of the mobile componentand the control device evaluating the identification informationsupplied by the identification unit in order to release at least one ofaccess to the consumers connected to the data transmission path andindividual functions of the consumers.
 2. A data exchange system asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile component is a mobile telephonecomprising an Internet interface.
 3. A data exchange system as claimedin claim 1, wherein the control device further comprises an interfacedevice for creating a communications interface between the mobilecomponent and a communications network.
 4. A data exchange system asclaimed in claim 3, wherein the control device is controlled by themobile component in a different frequency range than a frequency rangeused for the transmission of communications information between themobile component and the interface device.
 5. A data exchange system asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the control device, the data transmissionpath and the consumers to be controlled are accommodated in one housingunit.
 6. A data exchange system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the datatransmission path is a bus line via which a plurality of consumers canbe controlled with the aid of the mobile component and the controldevice.
 7. A data exchange system as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecontrol device makes a status query relating to the consumers connectedto the data transmission path with the aid of the mobile component.
 8. Adata exchange system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the consumersconnected to the data transmission path can be controlled via ahierarchical menu structure which can be presented on a display unit ofthe mobile component when the control device is controlled by the mobilecomponent.
 9. A data exchange system as claimed in claim 1, wherein themobile component and the control device transmit the control commandsvia the Internet interface of the mobile component in accordance withthe WAP protocol.
 10. A data exchange system, comprising: a mobilecomponent; and a control device for receiving control commands in anInternet compatible format from the mobile component via a mobile devicecommunication protocol to control at least one consumer, converting thecontrol commands into corresponding control signals and transmitting thecontrol signals via a data transmission path to the consumer to becontrolled, wherein the mobile component further comprises an Internetinterface to transmit control commands to the control device in theInternet compatible format, the control device evaluating the controlcommands and converting the control commands into a correspondingcontrol of the consumer connected to the data transmission path, andwherein the mobile component further comprises an identification unitfor supplying information to identify the user of the mobile component,at least one of the mobile component and the control device evaluatingthe identification information supplied by the identification unit inorder to release at least one of access to the consumer connected to thedata transmission path and individual functions of the consumer.
 11. Adata exchange system, comprising: a mobile component; and a controldevice for receiving control commands from the mobile component tocontrol at least one consumer, converting the control commands intocorresponding control signals and transmitting the control signals via adata transmission path to the consumer to be controlled, wherein themobile component further comprises an Internet interface to transmitcontrol commands to the control device in an Internet compatible format,the control device evaluating the control commands and converting thecontrol commands into a corresponding control of the consumer connectedto the data transmission path, wherein the mobile component furthercomprises an identification unit for supplying information to identifythe user of the mobile component, at least one of the mobile componentand the control device evaluating the identification informationsupplied by the identification unit in order to release at least one ofaccess to the consumer connected to the data transmission path andindividual functions of the consumer, and wherein the consumer isequipped with a digital data interface.
 12. A data exchange system,comprising: a mobile component; and a control device for receivingcontrol commands from the mobile component to control at least oneconsumer, converting the control commands into corresponding controlsignals and transmitting the control signals via a two-way datatransmission path to the consumer to be controlled, wherein the mobilecomponent further comprises an Internet interface to transmit controlcommands to the control device in an Internet compatible format, thecontrol device evaluating the control commands and converting thecontrol commands into a corresponding control of the consumer connectedto the data transmission path, and wherein the mobile component furthercomprises an identification unit for supplying information to identifythe user of the mobile component, at least one of the mobile componentand the control device evaluating the identification informationsupplied by the identification unit in order to release at least one ofaccess to the consumer connected to the data transmission path andindividual functions of the consumer.
 13. A data exchange system,comprising: a mobile component; and a control device for receivingcontrol commands from the mobile component to control at least oneconsumer, converting the control commands into corresponding controlsignals and transmitting the control signals via a data transmissionpath to the consumer to be controlled, wherein the mobile componentfurther comprises an Internet interface to transmit control commands tothe control device in an Internet compatible format, the control deviceevaluating the control commands and converting the control commands intoa corresponding control of the consumer connected to the datatransmission path, and wherein the mobile component further comprises anidentification unit for supplying information to identify the user ofthe mobile component, wherein both the mobile component and the controldevice evaluating the identification information supplied by theidentification unit in order to release at least one of access to theconsumer connected to the data transmission path and individualfunctions of the consumer.
 14. A data exchange system, comprising: amobile component; and a control device for receiving control commandsfrom the mobile component to control at least one consumer, convertingthe control commands into corresponding control signals and transmittingthe control signals via a data transmission path to the consumer to becontrolled, wherein the mobile component further comprises an Internetinterface to transmit control commands to the control device in anInternet compatible format, the control device evaluating the controlcommands and converting the control commands into a correspondingcontrol of the consumer connected to the data transmission path, whereinthe mobile component further comprises an identification unit forsupplying information to identify the user of the mobile component, atleast one of the mobile component and the control device evaluating theidentification information supplied by the identification unit in orderto release at least one of access to the consumer connected to the datatransmission path and individual functions of the consumer, and whereinthe consumer connected to the data transmission path is controlled via ahierarchical menu structure which is implemented on the mobilecomponent, the hierarchical menu being presented on a display unit ofthe mobile component when the control device is controlled by the mobilecomponent.